Perspective
by Aearloth Lindir
Summary: Hopefully a series of vignettes at various points in LOTR, from pre to post-Quest, from a different perspective to normal.
1. The Ford of Bruinen

He's so cold.

I can tell he's shivering, even though he's wearing his Elven cloak that the Lady Galadriel gave him. I turn to look at him and I see how distant he looks, how much of this is unreal to him, how much he sees that I cannot. He sits uneasily in the saddle, and seems loath to ride into the Ford.

"Mr Frodo, are you alright?"

He shivers and passes a hand over his eyes – his right hand. His left is clutched around the reins as if he never wants to let go. Or maybe he can't.

"Just shadows, Sam," he whispers. "Just shadows and memories."

"Are you in pain, Frodo?" Gandalf checks his own horse and turns to face my master. Frodo sighs and one hand absently moves to rub at his left shoulder.

"Well, yes I am," he admits. "It is my shoulder. The wound aches, and the memory of darkness is heavy on me. It was a year ago today."

"Alas, there are some wounds which cannot be wholly cured," says Gandalf. Frodo's reply is so quiet I can barely hear it over the rushing of the river.

"I fear it may be so with mine," He draws a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "Oh, there is no real going back. Though I may come to the Shire, it will not seem the same, for I shall not be the same. I am wounded with knife, sting and tooth, and a long burden. Where shall I find rest?" 

But Gandalf does not answer. He just looks very sad and thoughtful, then nudges Shadowfax and the magnificent silver steed plunges into the Ford. I wait for my master to be ready before crossing.

At last, Frodo clicks his tongue and rides into the water. But he's still shivering in the saddle, and somehow I know this isn't the end of it. It's not fair for him to have to suffer so much when he's done so much more for Middle Earth than any other. I want to help him, comfort him, stop him from feeling so much pain. But what can I do?

As we reach the bank and struggle up it – it's steeper than it looked from the other side – I pause and turn back to look at him, and he smiles at my concern. It's the beautiful smile I have learned to love so much, the smile I want him to keep forever, just so that the whole world can see it.

"Walk on, Strider," he murmurs in my ear, and pats my neck with his right hand, the four fingers tracing slowly down my coat.

* * * * *

Underlined text taken from "Homeward Bound" _The Return of the King_, J.R.R. Tolkien

If anyone has any good ideas about other scenes I could do from a different perspective to normal, please suggest and I'll see if I can do it. I have a couple more ideas, but they need a bit more work yet...


	2. Farewell at the Stable

Movie-verse. A drabble.

**Chapter 2: Farewell at the Stable**

5am. The stable door swings silently open and a voice speaks behind me. _Adar_.

"Take care." His arms are folded into his robes. "I cannot lose another."

_Adar _embraces me and I know what he is thinking. The last time a woman of his household left Rivendell, she took the Ship into the West and nearly broke his heart.

"Come home," he whispers. "My daughter."

There comes a time when every little girl must turn from her father and towards the man she loves. For me, that day is today.

Asfaloth whickers; time runs short.

"I will, _adar_," I answer.


	3. Prince of Stallions

I am a prince among horses. You wouldn't think it now, not after months of riding through the wilds with little time to spare for grooming. My coat flashes like fire in the sun when I am properly polished, and my hooves are bright jet. Now, the rough coat of winter grows through in straggles and my mane is tangled into snarls that will not come free without much pain.

But I am still a prince. I can gallop for seven days and nights, and still go on. I can outrace the winds and race faster than the flowing waters. Nothing can escape me when I am set on it by my master.

I am a prince, and I know duty and loyalty. I am not quite certain whether I chose my master, or whether he chose me. But whatever it is, I am bound to him until the day I die. No other can tame me or ride me, not now that I have bent myself to his will. He and I are like one creature, with one mind and purpose. I will go wherever he commands me. For him, I would go on forever. Together, we are invincible.

I am a prince, and I know that to gain what you seek, you must work for it. When first I met my master, we had a great race ahead of us, one that would take us across every country of Middle Earth, galloping, always galloping. Yet when we reached our destination we found our quarry had already gone, and we had just missed him. Questioning an old Halfling revealed the direction he had gone, and we were galloping again. In Bree, I thought we had finally caught up with them, but no. The Ranger had taken them under his protection and we missed them again. Then on to Weathertop… Weathertop, where my master was attacked by the enemy and was forced to flee. It shamed me deeply to run from the enemy, but I knew it must be so, for the one we sought was coming behind us.

I am a prince of stallions, and I know that whatever the circumstances, whatever the cost, your rider's command must be obeyed. I have never galloped as I did the day we reached the Fords. No horse could ever have gone faster than I did in that last mile, fighting to reach the Fords before the enemy did. It was close. Very close. But I am a prince, and I succeeded, reaching the Fords even as the enemy came behind us with fire and light, driving me into the River with my master.

But though I am a prince of stallions, I can still know fear. I knew fear that day, when the shining of the Elf behind us drove me mad with terror so that I leapt into the very water I feared, and the white water stallions poured over me until my Rider was washed away in the flood.


End file.
